Laurel · Thomas Hood · The Song of the Shirt, and Other Poems

Part II

Thomas Hood (1799–1845) · 1826–1845

iambic tetrameter · octosyllabic couplets · 292 lines · from The Song of the Shirt, and Other Poems

Idly watching the Furnace-flames,The men of the stithyAre in their smithy,Brutal monsters, with bulky frames,Beings Humanity scarcely claims,But hybrids rather of demon race,Unbless'd by the holy rite of grace,Who never had gone by Christian names,Mark, or Matthew, Peter, or James--Naked, foul, unshorn, unkempt,From touch of natural shame exempt,Things of which Delirium has dreamt--But wherefore dwell on these verbal sketches,When traced with frightful truth and vigor,Costume, attitude, face, and figure,Retsch has drawn the very wretches!

However, there they lounge about,The grim, gigantic fellows,Hardly hearing the storm without,That makes so very dreadful a rout,For the constant roarFrom the furnace door.And the blast of the monstrous bellows!

Oh, what a sceneThat Forge had beenFor Salvator Rosa's study!With wall, and beam, and post, and pin,And those ruffianly creatures, like Shapes of Sin,Hair, and eyes, and rusty skin,Illumed by a light so ruddyThe Hut, and whatever there is therein,Looks either red-hot or bloody!

And, oh! to hear the frequent burstOf strange, extravagant laughter,Harsh and hoarse,And resounding perforceFrom echoing roof and rafter!Though curses, the worstThat ever were curst,And threats that Cain invented the first,Come growling the instant after!

But again the livelier peal is rung,For the Smith, hight Salamander,In the jargon of some Titanic tongue,Elsewhere never said or sung,With the voice of a Stentor in joke has flungSome cumbrous sortOf sledge-hammer retortAt Red Beard, the crew's commander.

Some frightful jest--who knows how wild,Or obscene, from a monster so defiled,And a horrible mouth, of such extent,From flapping ear to ear it went,And show'd such tusks whenever it smiled--The very mouth to devour a child!

But fair or foul the jest gives birthTo another bellow of demon mirth,That far outroars the weather,As if all the Hyaenas that prowl the earthHad clubb'd their laughs together!

And lo! in the middle of all the din,Not seeming to care a single pin,For a prospect so volcanic,A Stranger steps abruptly in,Of an aspect rather Satanic:And he looks with a grin at those Cyclops grim,Who stare and grin again at himWith wondrous little panic.

Then up to the Furnace the Stranger goes,Eager to thaw his ears and nose,And warm his frozen fingers and toes--While each succeeding minute,Hotter and hotter the Smithy grows,And seems to declare,By a fiercer glare,On wall, roof, floor, and everywhere,It knows the Devil is in it!

Still not a wordIs utter'd or heard,But the beetle-brow'd Foreman nods and winks,Much as a shaggy old Lion blinks,And makes a shiftTo impart his driftTo a smoky brother, who, joining the links,Hints to a third the thing he thinks;And whatever it be,They all agreeIn smiling with faces full of glee,As if about to enjoy High Jinks.

What sort of tricks they mean to playBy way of diversion, who can say,Of such ferocious and barbarous folk,Who chuckled, indeed, and never spokeOf burning Robert the Jaeger to coke,Except as a capital practical joke!Who never thought of Mercy, or heard her,Or any gentle emotion felt;But hard as the iron they had to melt,Sported with Danger and romp'd with Murder!

Meanwhile the Stranger--The Brocken Ranger,Besides another and hotter post,That renders him not averse to a roast,--Creeping into the Furnace almost,Has made himself as warm as a toast--When, unsuspicious of any danger,And least of all of any such maggotAs treating a body like a faggot,All at once he is seized and shovenIn pastime cruel,Like so much fuel,Headlong into the blazing oven!

In he goes! with a frightful shoutMock'd by the rugged ruffianly band,As round the Furnace mouth they stand,Bar, and shovel, and ladle in hand,To hinder their Butt from crawling out,Who making one fierce attempt, but vain,Receives such a blowFrom Red-Beard's crowAs crashes the skull and gashes the brain,And blind, and dizzy, and stunn'd with pain,With merely an interjectional "oh!"Back he rolls in the flames again.

"Ha! Ha! Ho! Ho!" That second fallSeerns the very best joke of all,To judge by the roar,Twice as loud as before,That fills the Hut, from the roof to the floor,And flies a league or two out of the door,Up the mountains and over the moor--But scarcely the jolly echoes they wakeHave well begunTo take up the fun,Ere the shaggy Felons have cause to quake,And begin to feel that the deed they have done,Instead of being a pleasant one,Was a very great error--and no mistake.

For why?--in lieuOf its former hue,So natural, warm, and florid,The Furnace burns of a brimstone blue,And instead of the couleur de rose it threw,With a cooler reflection,--justly due--Exhibits each of the Pagan crew,Livid, ghastly, and horrid!But vainly they close their guilty eyesAgainst prophetic fears;Or with hard and horny palms deviseTo dam their enormous ears--There are sounds in the air,Not here or there,Irresistible voices everywhere,No bulwarks can ever rebut,And to match the screamsTremendous gleams,Of Horrors that like the Phantoms of dreams,They see with their eyelids shut!For awful coveys of terrible things,With forked tongues and venomous stings,On hagweed, broomsticks, and leathern wings,Are hovering round the Hut!

Shapes, that within the focus brightOf the Forge, are like shadows and blots;But farther off, in the shades of night,Clothed with their own phosphoric light,Are seen in the darkest spots.

Sounds! that fill the air with noises,Strange and indescribable voices,From Hags, in a diabolical clatter--Cats that spit curses, and apes that chatterScraps of cabalistical matter--Owls that screech, and dogs that yell--Skeleton hounds that will never be fatter--All the domestic tribes of Hell,Shrieking for flesh to tear and tatter,Bones to shatter,And limbs to scatter,And who it is that must furnish the latterThose blue-looking Men know well!Those blue-looking men that huddle together,For all their sturdy limbs and thewsTheir unshorn locks, like Nazarene Jews,And buffalo beards, and hides of leather,Huddled all in a heap together,Like timid lamb, and ewe, and wether,And as females say,In a similar way,Fit for knocking down with a feather!

In and out, in and out,The gathering Goblins hover about,Ev'ry minute augmenting the rout;For like a spellThe unearthly smellThat fumes from the Furnace, chimney and mouth,Draws them in--an infernal LegionFrom East, and West, and North, and South,Like carrion birds from ev'ry region,Till not a yard squareOf the sickening airBut has a Demon or two for its share,Breathing fury, woe, and despair,Never, never was such a sight!It beats the very Walpurgis Night,Displayed in the story of Doctor Faustus,For the scene to describeOf the awful tribe,If we were two Goethes, would quite exhaust us!

Suffice it, amid that dreary swarm,There musters each foul repulsive formThat ever a fancy overwarmBegot in its worst delirium;Besides some others of monstrous size,Never before revealed to eyes,Of the genus Megatherium!

Meanwhile the demons, filthy and foul,Gorgon, Chimera, Harpy, and Ghoul,Are not contented to jibber and howlAs a dirge for their late commander;But one of the bevy--witch or wizard,Disguised as a monstrous flying lizard,Springs on the grisly Salamander,Who stoutly fights, and struggles, and kicks.And tries the best of his wrestling tricks,No paltry strife,But for life, dear life.But the ruthless talons refuse to unfix,Till far beyond a surgical case,With starting eyes, and black in the face,Down he tumbles as dead as bricks!

A pretty sight for his mates to view!Those shaggy murderers looking so blue,And for him above all,Red-bearded and tall,With whom, at that very particular nick,There is such an unlucky crow to pick,As the one of iron that did the trickIn a recent bloody affair--No wonder feeling a little sick,With pulses beating uncommonly quick,And breath he never found so thick,He longs for the open air!

Three paces, or four,And he gains the door;But ere he accomplishes one,The sound of a blow comes, heavy and dull,And clasping his fingers round his skull--However the deed was done,That gave him that floridRed gash on the forehead--With a roll of the eyeballs perfectly horrid,There's a tremulous quiver,The last death-shiver,And Red-Beard's course is run!

Halloo! Halloo!They have done for two!But a heavyish job remains to do!For yonder, sledge and shovel in hand,Like elder Sons of Giant Despair,A couple of Cyclops make a stand,And fiercely hammering here and there,Keep at bay the Powers of Air--But desperation is all in vain!--They faint--they choke,For the sulphurous smokeIs poisoning heart, and lung, and brain,They reel, they sink, they gasp, they smother.One for a moment survives his brother,Then rolls a corpse across the other!

Halloo! Halloo!And Hullabaloo!There is only one more thing to do--And seized by beak, and talon, and claw,Bony hand, and hairy paw,Yea, crooked horn, and tusky jaw,The four huge Bodies are haul'd and shovenEach after each in the roaring oven!

That Eisen Hutte is standing still,Go to the Hartz whenever you will,And there it is beside a hill,And a rapid stream that turns many a mill;The self-same Forge,--you'll know it at sight--Casting upward, day and night,Flames of red, and yellow, and white!

Ay, half a mile from the mountain gorge,There it is, the famous Forge,With its Furnace,--the same that blazed of yore,--Hugely fed with fuel and ore;But ever since that tremendous Revel,Whatever Iron is melted therein,--As Travellers know who have been to Berlin--Is all as black as the Devil!

Words in this poem 71

smithy n.: The workshop of a smith, esp. a blacksmith; a smithery; a stithy. [AS. smi, fr. smi; akin to D. smidse, smids, OHG. smitta, G. schmiede, Icel. smi. See Smith, n.]
unkempt a.: Not combed; disheveled; as, an urchin with unkempt hair. [Pref. un- not + kempt, p. p. of kemb.]
wherefore adv.: For which reason; so; -- used relatively. [Where + for.]
dwell v. i.: To delay; to linger. [OE. dwellen, dwelien, to err, linger, AS. dwellan to deceive, hinder, delay, dwelian to err; akin to Icel. dvelja to delay, tarry, Sw. dväljas to dwell, Dan. dv]
frightful a.: Full of fright; affrighted; frightened.
dreadful a.: Full of dread or terror; fearful.
perforce v. t.: To force; to compel.
rafter n.: Originally, any rough and somewhat heavy piece of timber. Now, commonly, one of the timbers of a roof which are put on sloping, according to the inclination of the roof. See Illust. of Queen-post. [AS. ræfter; akin to E. raft, n. See Raft.]
curst a.: Froward; malignant; mischievous; malicious; snarling. [SeeCurse.]
peal v. i.: To appeal. Spencer.
rung n.: A floor timber in a ship. [OE. ronge, AS. hrung, a staff, rod, pole; akin to G. runge a short, thick piece of iron or wood, OD. ronghe a prop, support, Icel. röng a rib in a ship, Goth. H]
hight v. t.: To be called or named. [OE. heiten, highten, haten, hoten; also hight, hatte, hette, is called, was called, AS. hatan to call, name, be called, to command, promise; also hatte is calle]
stentor n.: A herald, in the Iliad, who had a very loud voice; hence, any person having a powerful voice.
cumbrous a.: Rendering action or motion difficult or toilsome; serving to obstruct or hinder; burdensome; clogging.
jest n.: A deed; an action; a gest. [OE. jeste, geste, deed, action, story, tale, OF. geste, LL. gesta, orig., exploits, neut. pl. from L. gestus, p. p. of gerere to bear, carry, accomplish, perfor]
went n.: Course; way; path; journey; direction.
prowl v. t.: To rove over, through, or about in a stealthy manner; esp., to search in, as for prey or booty. [OE. prollen to search about; of uncertain origin, perh. for proglen, a dim. of prog to beg, or proke to poke. Cf. Proke.]
satanic a.: Of or pertaining to Satan; having the qualities of Satan; resembling Satan; extremely malicious or wicked; devilish; infernal.
grin n.: A snare; a gin. [AS. grin.]
wondrous adv.: In a wonderful or surprising manner or degree; wonderfully. [OE. wonders, adv. (later also adj.). See Wonder, n., and cf. -wards.]
thaw v. i.: To melt, dissolve, or become fluid; to soften; -- said of that which is frozen; as, the ice thaws.
glare v. i.: To shine with a bright, dazzling light. [OE. glaren, gloren; cf. AS. glær amber, LG. glaren to glow or burn like coals, D. gloren to glimmer; prob. akin to E. glass.]
foreman n.: The first or chief man; as: (a) The chief man of a jury, who acts as their speaker.
glee n.: Music; minstrelsy; entertainment.
folk n.: In Anglo-Saxon times, the people of a group of townships or villages; a community; a tribe. [AS. folc; akin to D. volk, OS. & OHG. folk, G. volk, Icel. f, Sw. & Dan. folk, Lith. pulkas crowd, and perh. to E. follow.]
spoke n.: The radius or ray of a wheel; one of the small bars which are inserted in the hub, or nave, and which serve to support the rim or felly. [OE. spoke, spake, AS, spaca; akin to D. speek, LG. speke, OHG. speihha, G. speiche. sq. root170. Cf. Spike a nail.]
meanwhile n.: The intervening time; as, in the meantime (or mean time).
ranger n.: One who ranges; a rover; sometimes, one who ranges for plunder; a roving robber.
averse a.: Turned away or backward. [L. aversus, p. p. of avertere. See Avert.]
maggot n.: The footless larva of any fly. See Larval. [W. macai, pl. maceiod, magiod, a worn or grub; cf. magu to bread.]
pastime n.: That which amuses, and serves to make time pass agreeably; sport; amusement; diversion. [Pass + time: cf. F. passetemps.]
brimstone n.: Sulphur; See Sulphur. [OE. brimston, bremston, bernston, brenston; cf. Icel. brennistein. See Burn, v. t., and Stone.]
couleur n.: Color; -- chiefly used in a few French phrases, as couler de rose, color of rose; and hence, adjectively, rose-colored; roseate.
cooler n.: That which cools, or abates heat or excitement.
horrid a.: Rough; rugged; bristling. [L. horridus. See Horror, and cf. Ordure.]
rebut v. i.: To retire; to recoil.
tremendous a.: Fitted to excite fear or terror; such as may astonish or terrify by its magnitude, force, or violence; terrible; dreadful; as, a tremendous wind; a tremendous shower; a tremendous shock or fall. [L. tremendus that is to be trembled at, fearful, fr. tremere to tremble. See Tremble.]
leathern a.: Made of leather; consisting of. leather; as, a leathern purse.
indescribable a.: Incapable of being described.
clatter v. i.: To make a rattling sound by striking hard bodies together; to make a succession of abrupt, rattling sounds. [AS. cla a rattle, akin to D. klateren to rattle. Cf. Clack.]
cabalistical a.: Of or pertaining to the cabala; containing or conveying an occult meaning; mystic.
tatter n.: One who makes tatting. Caulfield & S. (Doct. of Needlework).
huddle v. i.: To press together promiscuously, from confusion, apprehension, or the like; to crowd together confusedly; to press or hurry in disorder; to crowd. [Cf. OE. hoderen, hodren, to cover, keep, warm; perh. akin to OE. huden, hiden, to hide, E. hide, and orig. meaning, to get together for protection in a safe pla]
nazarene n.: A native or inhabitant of Nazareth; -- a term of contempt applied to Christ and the early Christians.
wether n.: A castrated ram. [OE. wether, AS. we; akin to OS. wethar, withar, a ram, D. weder, G. widder, OHG. widar, Icel. ver, Sw. vädur, Dan. vædder, Goth. wiprus a lamb, L. vitulus calf,]
hover n.: A cover; a shelter; a protection. Carew. C. Kingsley. [Etymol. doubtful.]
unearthly a.: Not terrestrial; supernatural; preternatural; hence, weird; appalling; terrific; as, an unearthly sight or sound.
chimney n.: A fireplace or hearth. Sir W. Raleigh.
sickening a.: Causing sickness; specif., causing surfeit or disgust; nauseating.
suffice v. i.: To be enough, or sufficient; to meet the need (of anything); to be equal to the end proposed; to be adequate. [OE. suffisen, OF. soufire, F. suffire (cf. suffisant, p.pr.), L. sufficere to put under, to substitute, to avail for, to suffice; sub under + facere to make. Se]
amid prep.: In the midst or middle of; surrounded or encompassed by; among. [OE. amidde, amiddes, on midden, AS. on middan, in the middle, fr. midde the middle. The s is an adverbial ending, originally marking the genitive; the t is a la]
dreary a.: Sorrowful; distressful. [OE. dreori, dreri, AS. dreórig, sad; akin to G. traurig, and prob. to AS. dreósan to fall, Goth. driusan. Cf. Dross, Drear, Drizzle, Drowse.]
megatherium n.: An extinct gigantic quaternary mammal, allied to the ant-eaters and sloths. Its remains are found in South America. [NL. megatherium, fr. Gr. me`gas great + thyri`on beast.]
chimera n.: A monster represented as vomiting flames, and as having the head of a lion, the body of a goat, and the tail of a dragon. [L. chimaera a chimera (in sense 1), Gr. qymbr a yearling ewe.]
harpy n.: A fabulous winged monster, ravenous and filthy, having the face of a woman and the body of a vulture, with long claws, and the face pale with hunger. Some writers mention two, others three. [F. harpie, L. harpyia, Gr. Rapacious.]
ghoul n.: An imaginary evil being among Eastern nations, which was supposed to feed upon human bodies. Moore. [Per. gh an imaginary sylvan demon, supposed to devour men and animals: cf. Ar. gh, F. goule.]
jibber n.: A horse that jibs. [Eng.]
dirge n.: A piece of music of a mournful character, to accompany funeral rites; a funeral hymn. [Contraction of Lat. dirige, direct thou (imperative of dirigere), the first word of a funeral hymn (Lat. transl. of Psalm v. 8) beginning, "Dirige, Domine, in c]
bevy n.: A company; an assembly or collection of persons, especially of ladies. [Perhaps orig. a drinking company, fr. OF. bevée (cf. It. beva) a drink, beverage; then, perh., a company in general, esp. of ladies; and last applied by sportsm]
stoutly adv.: In a stout manner; lustily; boldly; obstinately; as, he stoutly defended himself.
strife n.: The act of striving; earnest endeavor. [OF. estrif. See Strive.]
ruthless a.: Having no ruth; cruel; pitiless.
nick n.: A notch cut into something; as: (a) A score for keeping an account; a reckoning. [Akin to Nock.]
yonder adv.: At a distance, but within view. [OE. yonder, ýonder; cf. OD. ginder, Goth. jaindr there. Yond, adv.]
desperation n.: The act of despairing or becoming desperate; a giving up of hope. [L. desperatio: cf. OF. desperation.]
gasp v. i.: To open the mouth wide in catching the breath, or in laborious respiration; to labor for breath; to respire convulsively; to pant violently. [OE. gaspen, gaispen, to yawn, gasp, Icel. geispa to yawn; akin to Sw. gäspa, Dan. gispe to gasp.]
corpse n.: A human body in general, whether living or dead; -- sometimes contemptuosly. [OF. cors (sometimes written corps), F. corps, L. corpus; akin to AS. hrif womb. See Midriff, and cf. Corse, Corselet, Corps, Cuerpo.]
hullabaloo n.: A confused noise; uproar; tumult. Thackeray. [Perh. a corruption of hurly-burly.]
hutte n.: A small house, hivel, or cabin; a mean lodge or dwelling; a slightly built or temporary structure. [OE. hotte; akin to D. hut, G. hütte, OHG. hutta, Dan. hytte, Sw. hydda; and F. hutte, of G. origin; all akin to E. hide to conceal. See Hude to conceal.]
yore adv.: In time long past; in old time; long since. [OE. , yare, , AS. geára;akin to geár a year, E. year. Year.]
berlin n.: A four-wheeled carriage, having a sheltered seat behind the body and separate from it, invented in the 17th century, at Berlin. [The capital of Prussia]

Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.

About this text

Part II is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Poetical Works of Thomas Hood, Project Gutenberg ebook #15652; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.

Cite as: Thomas Hood, Part II, in The Song of the Shirt, and Other Poems (1826–1845), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #15652, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/hood-poetical-works/part-ii-3.html, id L20221.

Form and metre

Part II is 292 lines in 26 verse paragraphs. It is in rhyming couplets, 51% of the lines: octosyllabic couplets. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 80%).

See other poems in octosyllabic couplets, other poems in iambic tetrameter.

Measured by Laurel's pipeline, not copied from a handbook: how stress and metre are counted, how rhyme is lettered, how a drifted rhyme is found. Where the dictionary cannot confirm a rhyme the letter is withheld, not guessed.

Rhyme words, stanza by stanza

The word that ends each line, lettered by the rhyme it makes; a dash is a line whose rhyme the dictionary could not confirm.

1 ABBAACCAADD-E--E flames^A · stithy^B · smithy^B · frames^A · claims^A · race^C · grace^C · names^A · james^A · unkempt^D · exempt^D · dreamt · sketches^E · vigor · figure · wretches^E
2 ABAACCB about^A · fellows^B · without^A · rout^A · roar^C · door^C · bellows^B
3 -ABAAABAB scene · been^A · study^B · pin^A · sin^A · skin^A · ruddy^B · therein^A · bloody^B
4 ABCCBAAAB burst^A · laughter^B · hoarse^C · perforce^C · rafter^B · worst^A · curst^A · first^A · after^B
5 ABAAACCB rung^A · salamander^B · tongue^A · sung^A · flung^A · sort^C · retort^C · commander^B
6 AABBAA wild^A · defiled^A · extent^B · went^B · smiled^A · child^A
7 AABAB birth^A · mirth^A · weather^B · earth^A · together^B
8 AABABCCB din^A · pin^A · volcanic^B · in^A · satanic^B · grim^C · him^C · panic^B
9 AAA-ABBB- goes^A · nose^A · toes^A · minute · grows^A · declare^B · glare^B · everywhere^B · it
10 AABBCCBBDDDB word^A · heard^A · winks^B · blinks^B · shift^C · drift^C · links^B · thinks^B · be^D · agree^D · glee^D · jinks^B
11 AABBBB-CC- play^A · say^A · folk^B · spoke^B · coke^B · joke^B · her · felt^C · melt^C · murder
12 AABBBBACC-DD- stranger^A · ranger^A · post^B · roast^B · almost^B · toast^B · danger^A · maggot^C · faggot^C · shoven · cruel^D · fuel^D · oven
13 ABBBACDDCCDC shout^A · band^B · stand^B · hand^B · out^A · vain^C · blow^D · crow^D · brain^C · pain^C · oh^D · again^C
14 AABBBB-CDDCDDC fall^A · all^A · roar^B · before^B · floor^B · door^B · moor · wake^C · begun^D · fun^D · quake^C · done^D · one^D · mistake^C
15 AABAAAABCDCDEEEFGGGFHHHF lieu^A · hue^A · florid^B · blue^A · threw^A · due^A · crew^A · horrid^B · eyes^C · fears^D · devise^C · ears^D · air^E · there^E · everywhere^E · rebut^F · screams^G · gleams^G · dreams^G · shut^F · things^H · stings^H · wings^H · hut^F
16 ABAAB bright^A · blots^B · night^A · light^A · spots^B
17 --AAABABAAAABCDDCCCEEC noises · voices · clatter^A · chatter^A · matter^A · yell^B · fatter^A · hell^B · tatter^A · shatter^A · scatter^A · latter^A · well^B · together^C · thews^D · jews^D · leather^C · together^C · wether^C · say^E · way^E · feather^C
18 AAABBCDCDEEEEFFGHHG out^A · about^A · rout^A · spell^B · smell^B · mouth^C · legion^D · south^C · region^D · square^E · air^E · share^E · despair^E · sight^F · night^F · faustus^G · describe^H · tribe^H · us^G
19 AAABCCB swarm^A · form^A · overwarm^A · delirium^B · size^C · eyes^C · megatherium^B
20 A-ABCCBDDEEDFFD foul^A · ghoul · howl^A · commander^B · wizard^C · lizard^C · salamander^B · kicks^D · tricks^D · strife^E · life^E · unfix^D · case^F · face^F · bricks^D
21 AABBCCCDCCCD view^A · blue^A · all^B · tall^B · nick^C · pick^C · trick^C · affair^D · sick^C · quick^C · thick^C · air^D
22 AABCCBD-DEEB four^A · door^A · one^B · dull^C · skull^C · done^B · florid^D · forehead · horrid^D · quiver^E · shiver^E · run^B
23 AAABCBCCDEEDFFF halloo^A · two^A · do^A · hand^B · despair^C · stand^B · there^C · air^C · vain^D · choke^E · smoke^E · brain^D · smother^F · brother^F · other^F
24 AAABBB-- halloo^A · hullabaloo^A · do^A · claw^B · paw^B · jaw^B · shoven · oven
25 AAAABBB still^A · will^A · hill^A · mill^A · sight^B · night^B · white^B
26 AABBCDDC gorge^A · forge^A · yore^B · ore^B · revel^C · therein^D · berlin^D · devil^C

Scansion, line by line

Each line with its syllable count and the stresses the words themselves fix: / stressed, ˘ unstressed, · a syllable the word leaves free and the metre decides. Read against iambic tetrameter. How this is done.

Line	Syl.	Stress
Idly watching the Furnace-flames,	8	/˘/˘·/˘·
The men of the stithy	6	····/˘
Are in their smithy,	5	···/˘
Brutal monsters, with bulky frames,	8	/˘/˘·/˘·
Beings Humanity scarcely claims,	9	/˘˘/˘˘/˘·
But hybrids rather of demon race,	9	·/˘/˘·/˘·
Unbless'd by the holy rite of grace,	9	····/˘···
Who never had gone by Christian names,	9	·/˘···/˘·
Mark, or Matthew, Peter, or James--	8	··/˘/˘··
Naked, foul, unshorn, unkempt,	7	/˘···˘/
From touch of natural shame exempt,	9	···/˘˘·˘/
Things of which Delirium has dreamt--	9	···˘/˘˘··
But wherefore dwell on these verbal sketches,	10	·/˘···/˘/˘
When traced with frightful truth and vigor,	10	··˘·/˘··/˘
Costume, attitude, face, and figure,	9	˘//˘···/˘
Retsch has drawn the very wretches!	8	····/˘··
However, there they lounge about,	8	·/˘·····
The grim, gigantic fellows,	7	··˘/˘/˘
Hardly hearing the storm without,	8	/˘/˘····
That makes so very dreadful a rout,	9	···/˘/˘··
For the constant roar	5	··/˘·
From the furnace door.	5	··/˘·
And the blast of the monstrous bellows!	9	·····/˘/˘
Oh, what a scene	4	····
That Forge had been	4	····
For Salvator Rosa's study!	8	····/˘/˘
With wall, and beam, and post, and pin,	8	········
And those ruffianly creatures, like Shapes of Sin,	11	··/˘˘/˘····
Hair, and eyes, and rusty skin,	7	····/˘·
Illumed by a light so ruddy	9	··˘····/˘
The Hut, and whatever there is therein,	10	····/˘····
Looks either red-hot or bloody!	8	·/˘···/˘
And, oh! to hear the frequent burst	8	·····/˘·
Of strange, extravagant laughter,	8	··˘/˘˘/˘
Harsh and hoarse,	3	···
And resounding perforce	6	·˘/˘˘/
From echoing roof and rafter!	8	·/˘˘··/˘
Though curses, the worst	5	·/˘··
That ever were curst,	5	·/˘··
And threats that Cain invented the first,	9	····˘/˘··
Come growling the instant after!	8	·/˘·/˘··
But again the livelier peal is rung,	10	·˘/·/˘˘···
For the Smith, hight Salamander,	8	·····˘/˘
In the jargon of some Titanic tongue,	10	··/˘··˘/˘·
Elsewhere never said or sung,	7	/·/˘···
With the voice of a Stentor in joke has flung	11	·····/˘····
Some cumbrous sort	4	·/˘·
Of sledge-hammer retort	6	··/˘/·
At Red Beard, the crew's commander.	8	·····˘/˘
Some frightful jest--who knows how wild,	8	·/˘·····
Or obscene, from a monster so defiled,	10	·˘/··/˘···
And a horrible mouth, of such extent,	10	··/˘˘···˘/
From flapping ear to ear it went,	8	·/˘·····
And show'd such tusks whenever it smiled--	10	····˘/˘··˘
The very mouth to devour a child!	10	·/˘··˘/˘··
But fair or foul the jest gives birth	8	········
To another bellow of demon mirth,	10	·˘/˘/˘·/˘·
That far outroars the weather,	7	·····/˘
As if all the Hyaenas that prowl the earth	10	··········
Had clubb'd their laughs together!	7	····˘/˘
And lo! in the middle of all the din,	10	····/˘····
Not seeming to care a single pin,	9	·/˘···/˘·
For a prospect so volcanic,	8	··/˘·˘/˘
A Stranger steps abruptly in,	8	·/˘·˘/˘·
Of an aspect rather Satanic:	9	··/·/˘˘/˘
And he looks with a grin at those Cyclops grim,	11	········/··
Who stare and grin again at him	8	····˘/··
With wondrous little panic.	7	·/˘/˘/˘
Then up to the Furnace the Stranger goes,	10	····/˘·/˘·
Eager to thaw his ears and nose,	8	/˘······
And warm his frozen fingers and toes--	9	···/˘/˘··
While each succeeding minute,	7	··˘/˘/˘
Hotter and hotter the Smithy grows,	9	/˘·/˘·/˘·
And seems to declare,	5	···˘/
By a fiercer glare,	5	··/˘·
On wall, roof, floor, and everywhere,	8	·····/˘·
It knows the Devil is in it!	8	···/˘···
Still not a word	4	····
Is utter'd or heard,	5	·/˘··
But the beetle-brow'd Foreman nods and winks,	10	··/˘·/˘···
Much as a shaggy old Lion blinks,	9	···/˘·/˘·
And makes a shift	4	····
To impart his drift	5	·˘/··
To a smoky brother, who, joining the links,	11	··/˘/˘·/˘··
Hints to a third the thing he thinks;	8	········
And whatever it be,	6	··/˘··
They all agree	4	··˘/
In smiling with faces full of glee,	9	·/˘·/˘···
As if about to enjoy High Jinks.	9	·····˘/··
What sort of tricks they mean to play	8	········
By way of diversion, who can say,	9	···˘/˘···
Of such ferocious and barbarous folk,	10	··˘/˘·/˘˘·
Who chuckled, indeed, and never spoke	10	·/˘˘˘/·/˘·
Of burning Robert the Jaeger to coke,	10	·/˘/˘·/˘··
Except as a capital practical joke!	10	····/˘/˘˘·
Who never thought of Mercy, or heard her,	10	·/˘··/˘···
Or any gentle emotion felt;	9	·/˘/˘/˘˘·
But hard as the iron they had to melt,	10	····/˘····
Sported with Danger and romp'd with Murder!	10	/˘·/˘···/˘
Meanwhile the Stranger--	5	/··/˘
The Brocken Ranger,	5	···/˘
Besides another and hotter post,	9	˘/˘/˘·/˘·
That renders him not averse to a roast,--	10	·/˘··˘/···
Creeping into the Furnace almost,	9	/˘···/˘/·
Has made himself as warm as a toast--	9	··˘/·····
When, unsuspicious of any danger,	10	······/˘/˘
And least of all of any such maggot	10	·····/˘·/˘
As treating a body like a faggot,	10	·/˘·/˘··/˘
All at once he is seized and shoven	10	······˘·/˘
In pastime cruel,	5	·/·/˘
Like so much fuel,	5	···/˘
Headlong into the blazing oven!	9	/····/˘/˘
In he goes! with a frightful shout	8	·····/˘·
Mock'd by the rugged ruffianly band,	10	···/˘˘/˘˘·
As round the Furnace mouth they stand,	8	···/˘···
Bar, and shovel, and ladle in hand,	9	··/˘·/˘··
To hinder their Butt from crawling out,	9	·/˘···/˘·
Who making one fierce attempt, but vain,	9	·/˘··˘/··
Receives such a blow	5	˘/···
From Red-Beard's crow	4	····
As crashes the skull and gashes the brain,	10	·/˘···/˘··
And blind, and dizzy, and stunn'd with pain,	9	···/˘····
With merely an interjectional "oh!"	10	·/˘·······
Back he rolls in the flames again.	8	······˘/
"Ha! Ha! Ho! Ho!" That second fall	8	·····/˘·
Seerns the very best joke of all,	8	··/˘····
To judge by the roar,	5	·····
Twice as loud as before,	6	······
That fills the Hut, from the roof to the floor,	10	··········
And flies a league or two out of the door,	10	··········
Up the mountains and over the moor--	9	··/˘·····
But scarcely the jolly echoes they wake	10	·/˘·/˘/˘··
Have well begun	4	··˘/
To take up the fun,	5	·····
Ere the shaggy Felons have cause to quake,	10	··/˘/˘····
And begin to feel that the deed they have done,	11	·˘/········
Instead of being a pleasant one,	9	˘/·/˘·/˘·
Was a very great error--and no mistake.	11	··/˘·/˘··˘/
For why?--in lieu	4	····
Of its former hue,	5	··/˘·
So natural, warm, and florid,	8	·/˘˘··/˘
The Furnace burns of a brimstone blue,	9	·/˘···/˘·
And instead of the couleur de rose it threw,	11	·˘/········
With a cooler reflection,--justly due--	10	··/˘˘/˘/˘·
Exhibits each of the Pagan crew,	9	˘/˘···/˘·
Livid, ghastly, and horrid!	7	/˘/˘·/˘
But vainly they close their guilty eyes	9	·/˘···/˘·
Against prophetic fears;	6	··˘/˘·
Or with hard and horny palms devise	9	····/˘·˘/
To dam their enormous ears--	7	···˘/˘·
There are sounds in the air,	6	······
Not here or there,	4	····
Irresistible voices everywhere,	10	·˘/˘˘/˘/˘·
No bulwarks can ever rebut,	8	·/˘·/˘˘/
And to match the screams	5	·····
Tremendous gleams,	4	˘/˘·
Of Horrors that like the Phantoms of dreams,	10	·/˘···/˘··
They see with their eyelids shut!	7	····/··
For awful coveys of terrible things,	10	·/˘/˘·/˘˘·
With forked tongues and venomous stings,	9	··˘··/˘˘·
On hagweed, broomsticks, and leathern wings,	8	··/··/˘·
Are hovering round the Hut!	7	·/˘˘···
Shapes, that within the focus bright	8	·····/˘·
Of the Forge, are like shadows and blots;	9	·····/···
But farther off, in the shades of night,	9	·/˘······
Clothed with their own phosphoric light,	9	·˘···/˘˘·
Are seen in the darkest spots.	7	····/˘·
Sounds! that fill the air with noises,	8	······/˘
Strange and indescribable voices,	9	···˘/˘˘/˘
From Hags, in a diabolical clatter--	11	·····˘/˘˘/˘
Cats that spit curses, and apes that chatter	10	···/˘···/˘
Scraps of cabalistical matter--	9	·······/˘
Owls that screech, and dogs that yell--	7	·······
Skeleton hounds that will never be fatter--	11	/˘˘···/˘·/˘
All the domestic tribes of Hell,	8	··˘/˘···
Shrieking for flesh to tear and tatter,	9	/˘·····/˘
Bones to shatter,	4	··/˘
And limbs to scatter,	5	···/˘
And who it is that must furnish the latter	11	······/˘·/˘
Those blue-looking Men know well!	7	··/˘···
Those blue-looking men that huddle together,	11	··/˘··/˘˘/˘
For all their sturdy limbs and thews	8	···/˘···
Their unshorn locks, like Nazarene Jews,	9	·········
And buffalo beards, and hides of leather,	10	·/˘·····/˘
Huddled all in a heap together,	10	/˘˘····˘/˘
Like timid lamb, and ewe, and wether,	9	·/˘····/˘
And as females say,	5	··/··
In a similar way,	6	··/˘˘·
Fit for knocking down with a feather!	9	··/˘···/˘
In and out, in and out,	6	······
The gathering Goblins hover about,	10	·/˘˘/˘/˘··
Ev'ry minute augmenting the rout;	9	··/˘/·˘··
For like a spell	4	····
The unearthly smell	5	·˘/˘·
That fumes from the Furnace, chimney and mouth,	10	····/˘/˘··
Draws them in--an infernal Legion	9	····˘/˘/˘
From East, and West, and North, and South,	8	········
Like carrion birds from ev'ry region,	10	·/˘˘····/˘
Till not a yard square	5	·····
Of the sickening air	6	··/˘˘·
But has a Demon or two for its share,	10	···/˘·····
Breathing fury, woe, and despair,	8	/˘/˘··˘/
Never, never was such a sight!	8	/˘/˘····
It beats the very Walpurgis Night,	9	···/˘····
Displayed in the story of Doctor Faustus,	11	˘/··/˘·/˘/˘
For the scene to describe	6	····˘/
Of the awful tribe,	5	··/˘·
If we were two Goethes, would quite exhaust us!	10	·······˘/·
Suffice it, amid that dreary swarm,	9	˘/·˘/·/˘·
There musters each foul repulsive form	9	·/˘··˘/˘·
That ever a fancy overwarm	9	·/˘·/˘···
Begot in its worst delirium;	9	˘/···˘/˘˘
Besides some others of monstrous size,	9	˘/·/˘·/˘·
Never before revealed to eyes,	9	/˘··˘/˘··
Of the genus Megatherium!	8	··/˘····
Meanwhile the demons, filthy and foul,	9	/··/˘/˘··
Gorgon, Chimera, Harpy, and Ghoul,	9	/˘˘/˘/˘··
Are not contented to jibber and howl	10	··˘/˘·/˘··
As a dirge for their late commander;	9	······˘/˘
But one of the bevy--witch or wizard,	10	····/˘··/˘
Disguised as a monstrous flying lizard,	10	˘/··/˘/˘/˘
Springs on the grisly Salamander,	9	···/˘·˘/˘
Who stoutly fights, and struggles, and kicks.	9	·/˘··/˘··
And tries the best of his wrestling tricks,	9	······/˘·
No paltry strife,	4	·/˘·
But for life, dear life.	5	·····
But the ruthless talons refuse to unfix,	11	··/˘/˘/··˘/
Till far beyond a surgical case,	9	·····/˘˘·
With starting eyes, and black in the face,	9	·/˘······
Down he tumbles as dead as bricks!	8	··/˘····
A pretty sight for his mates to view!	9	·/˘······
Those shaggy murderers looking so blue,	10	·/˘/˘˘/˘··
And for him above all,	6	······
Red-bearded and tall,	5	·/˘··
With whom, at that very particular nick,	10	····/˘˘/˘·
There is such an unlucky crow to pick,	10	····˘/˘···
As the one of iron that did the trick	10	····/˘····
In a recent bloody affair--	8	··/˘/˘˘/
No wonder feeling a little sick,	9	·/˘/˘·/˘·
With pulses beating uncommonly quick,	10	·/˘/˘·/˘˘·
And breath he never found so thick,	8	···/˘···
He longs for the open air!	7	····/˘·
Three paces, or four,	5	·/˘··
And he gains the door;	5	·····
But ere he accomplishes one,	8	···˘/˘˘·
The sound of a blow comes, heavy and dull,	10	······/˘··
And clasping his fingers round his skull--	9	·/˘·/˘···
However the deed was done,	7	·/˘····
That gave him that florid	6	····/˘
Red gash on the forehead--	6	····/˘
With a roll of the eyeballs perfectly horrid,	11	·····/·/˘/˘
There's a tremulous quiver,	7	··/˘˘/˘
The last death-shiver,	5	···/˘
And Red-Beard's course is run!	6	······
Halloo! Halloo!	4	˘/˘/
They have done for two!	5	·····
But a heavyish job remains to do!	9	·····˘/··
For yonder, sledge and shovel in hand,	9	·/˘··/˘··
Like elder Sons of Giant Despair,	9	·/˘··/˘˘/
A couple of Cyclops make a stand,	9	·/˘·/····
And fiercely hammering here and there,	9	·/˘/˘˘···
Keep at bay the Powers of Air--	8	····/˘··
But desperation is all in vain!--	9	··˘/˘····
They faint--they choke,	4	····
For the sulphurous smoke	6	··/˘˘·
Is poisoning heart, and lung, and brain,	9	·/˘˘·····
They reel, they sink, they gasp, they smother.	9	·······/˘
One for a moment survives his brother,	10	···/˘˘/·/˘
Then rolls a corpse across the other!	9	····˘/·/˘
Halloo! Halloo!	4	˘/˘/
And Hullabaloo!	5	··˘˘/
There is only one more thing to do--	9	··/˘·····
And seized by beak, and talon, and claw,	10	··˘···/˘··
Bony hand, and hairy paw,	7	/˘··/˘·
Yea, crooked horn, and tusky jaw,	9	·/˘˘··/˘·
The four huge Bodies are haul'd and shoven	10	···/˘···/˘
Each after each in the roaring oven!	10	······/˘/˘
That Eisen Hutte is standing still,	8	·/˘··/˘·
Go to the Hartz whenever you will,	9	····˘/˘··
And there it is beside a hill,	8	····˘/··
And a rapid stream that turns many a mill;	10	··/˘···/··
The self-same Forge,--you'll know it at sight--	9	·········
Casting upward, day and night,	7	/˘/˘···
Flames of red, and yellow, and white!	8	····/˘··
Ay, half a mile from the mountain gorge,	9	······/˘·
There it is, the famous Forge,	7	····/˘·
With its Furnace,--the same that blazed of yore,--	10	··/˘······
Hugely fed with fuel and ore;	8	/˘··/˘··
But ever since that tremendous Revel,	10	·/˘··˘/˘/˘
Whatever Iron is melted therein,--	10	·/˘/˘·/˘··
As Travellers know who have been to Berlin--	10	·/˘·····˘/
Is all as black as the Devil!	8	······/˘

The reader shows the same poem with its rhymes coloured and a stress row above each line, the notes beside their stanzas, and any word's definition on a tap; the analysis page takes the whole book apart. How every part of this site was made.

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Poems The Song of the Shirt, and Other Poems